Grains Of Sand
by Ravensara
Summary: The crew of Serenity attempt a simple cargo run while transporting a most peculiar passenger.
1. Chapter 1

1

The settlement of Smokerise was widespread, boasting slightly more than 30,000 people concerned mainly with agriculture and industry. It was well littered with both schools and houses of worship, which might cause one to suspect it was chock full of well-educated types of a pleasing nature, but that assessment was anything but accurate. Unfortunately, the various spiritual centers created divisions between the groups of believers, with each positive that any but their own kind was doomed to eternal damnation even if the differences between their systems were slight at best. Thus, as had been observed throughout the colonies, like folk tended to rally with like folk and prejudices remained strong and as motivated by ignorance as always.

Smokerise promoted itself as a homey, "backwoods" melting pot in an effort to attract more laborers. There was one small portion of the planet reserved for the elite, but they were considered superior solely by Smokerise's own standards, and were scoffed at by anyone living in any of the inner worlds controlled by the Alliance. Twice a year the little sphere beset with occasional terrible windstorms and frequent electrical storms held a blackberry harvest festival that attracted visitors from some of the farthest planets, but aside from these festivals the little colony remained pretty much obscure.

The last festival was a month or so past. Despite the number of colonies located on planets or moons where time did not quite mesh with that of Earth That Was, Earthtime was considered Universal time so that some sort of consistency could be maintained when communicating between worlds. Several months had passed since the birth of Zoe and Wash's daughter, several more since his death, and Zoe managed to locate distant kin on Smokerise, and thus a visit was in order. By chance, there was a surplus of food left over from what had been a dismal festival turnout, and the crew of the Firefly-class cargo ship_ Serenity_ planned to take advantage of this fact.

Mal was negotiating for fresh produce and Kaylee was bored. The young man trying to push extra items on them at what he was calling a minimal investment directed most of his comments her way, irritating the captain and making the mechanic uncomfortable. She eventually managed to make it into the shade of the big fueling depot they were parked near, and from there inside the controlled climate of what amounted to a tiny pilot's shop and gift boutique. Smokerise was large enough to support an actual launch/landing facility, but not large enough for it to possess its own cantina. Hoping for a sandwich, she was disappointed that she couldn't even find a vending machine that dispensed pre-packaged sweets.

The shop was minimally stocked and dull, poorly lit, but comfortably cool. The mechanic perused a selection of tops embroidered with the name _Smokerise Space Port_ or featurning a single, glistening blackberry. An interactive wall screen only gave her choices between looking at a nature-themed Smokerise visit, a blackberry festival video, or one that promoted the planet's industries and exports. Other than that there was a meager selection of personal communication devices on display, downloadable travel apps for pilots, embroidered caps, and pocket-sized toy spacecraft models. She paused beside a low, square-cut cushioned chair and plunged the fingers of her right hand into her hair. If she sat, she was afraid she might nap. Such a drowsy little place, she thought. Such a drowsy little planet.

A man entered through the tinted glass door and walked briskly toward the nearest counter on his right. He stood for a moment with his back to the petite woman, and she could tell he was tall, lean, with an athletic build. He stood erect, his posture and the neat edges of his hairline suggesting someone who took pride in his appearance and health. His outfit was a little nicer than what one might expect to see at such a settlement, but not exactly fashionable nor fancy. He lingered at the counter, peering expectantly into the unlit area beyond it and finally called in a clear, gentle voice, "Hallo?" He turned to glance at the other occupant of the room, giving Kaylee a quick glimpse of wide, clear blue eyes. "Hallo?" he tried again.

No response came from either the dimly lit area before him, or the well-lit hallway to his left. He tried once more before turning again with a hapless smile and look of accepted defeat that caused his broad shoulders to sag. Kaylee was able to get a better look at him—the few stray strands of rich, chocolate-brown hair that refused to stay put, the distinctly masculine cut of his jaw, the hint of shadow beneath the skin of his muzzle, the strong nose that ended in a cute little near-perfect sphere, and those eyes—a touch large, wide as a child's, giving a hint of sweet naiveté to his look. "Doesn't look like anybody's home," he mentioned softly with a grin.

For some time she had carried a crush on the ship's doctor, Simon Tam. Simon with his lush, glorious dark hair, his clean scent, beautifully masculine features that actually made her think of him as pretty. Pretty Simon with his trusting blue eyes and long-fingered physician's hands, lean and elegant. And despite the tentative relationship that eventually bloomed with achingly delicious slowness, she now felt her body temperature rise and her heart flutter as this tall stranger smiled shyly her way. "Um, what?"

"Do you work here?" he queried dubiously.

"No. I'm, uh, with one of the ships." She jerked her thumb toward the bank of tinted glass to her right. "I came on one. One of the vessels…the, um, Firefly."

"What a charming name for a space-faring vessel," he remarked.

"No," she said, hating her awkwardness. "She's called _Serenity_. She's a Firefly-class ship."

"Passenger vessel?" One eyebrow cocked.

"Yup," Kaylee nodded. "Cargo, travel—whatever you need her to be."

The man, who she guessed to be in his early thirties, neared her and lowered his voice after glancing down the lit hallway again. "When does she next depart?"

"We're loading supplies, so she could be ready to go in an hour or so."

His lips tightened and he swallowed as his gaze fell to the side. "And, to where shall she be flying?"

The woman shrugged. "How much you willin' to spend?"

His smile broadened. His mouth was small, the lips full, and had they carried more color she would have thought them feminine. "What's the currency of preference?"

Her brows rose. "Always negotiable."


	2. Chapter 2

2

Mal was going over a checklist of supplies as they were loaded into the cargo hold. "Too far," he mentioned, pushing the note Kaylee had shown him back at her. "We'll take some small, nearby jobs, but nothing this far out of our way."

She knew he wanted to remain in the general vicinity so they could easily pick up Zoe and her daughter as soon as they were ready to leave. "But he's payin' us good," she told him, pulling a plump drawstring bag from one of the pockets of her flightsuit.

He grinned. "What's that? Magic beans?"

She shrugged and deftly widened the aperture, tilting the bag to spill a dozen or so mostly spherical objects into her palm.

"What're-" he began, squinting her way.

Kaylee turned away from him and took a few steps into a brighter patch of natural light. "Shiny," she cooed.

"Are those pearls?"

She shrugged again. "I don't have much experience with such things, but maybe if we had an expert take a look at 'em…."

He moved closer to her and reached over her shoulder to take hold of one and pinch it. He rolled it between forefinger and thumb, and then lifted it to grate across his front teeth.

"What're you doing?"

"Fake pearls are smooth. Real pearls feel rough," he explained, holding the object up to the light, then very close to one eye. He tossed it to her and she nearly dropped the rest trying to catch it. "Show 'em to Inara. What'd this guy say his name was?"

She looked perplexed for a moment. "Oh, it was…Flint somethin'…Flint…Fort…ner."

"Fortner?"

She nodded.

"Go find Inara," he instructed.

"So, we're takin' him up?"

"No farther than…Shandwick," he told her.

She let pearls slide through her fingers back into the pouch. "You mean I might have to give some of these back?"

Mal shrugged. "Inara."


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Shandwick shall be fine," Flint Fortner told them. He was as tall as Mal, though slightly heavier with shoulders like Jayne's. "And where will you be heading after that?"

"We have business in the area," Mal replied evasively.

"I see. Does your vessel possess any defensive capabilities?"

It was a startling question. "She has a good pilot," the captain replied.

The stranger allowed his brows to rise as he looked just to the side of Malcolm Reynolds as though something far more interesting had captured his attention. Finally he mentioned, "Excellent," although he spoke the word automatically like someone who nods along with a conversation he really doesn't care about. His gaze wandered the cargo hold. "Blackberries?"

"We're dropping off shipments at Pitchpine and Shandwick."

"Any other stops?"

"None scheduled thus far."

Mal's assessment of the paying passenger was that the man was peculiar, of a possibly shady background, that he came from money and education, that his wide-eyed innocence probably indicated he was anything but. "Where did you get the pearls anyway? I was thinkin' they'd make a wonderful gift strung up for my gal-"

"Do as you please with them," Flint said dismissively, but with a grin. "May I tour the vessel?"

"That can be arranged," Mal told him. "We make it a policy not to ask questions, so here's one—anybody lookin' for you?"

The grin dissolved into a cagey sideways smile. "Usually. At the moment, however, I'm pursuing my own interests."

"Are you prepared should the ride get a little bumpy?"

"I'm always prepared," the tall man replied, his gaze rising from a shadow that fell across the floor, climbing to a higher level and along the form of an elegant figure in silk. The smile spread and the gaze softened. "Good afternoon. May I introduce myself? My name is Flint Fortner."

"An unusual name indeed," Said Inara, surveying the deck below, and Mal knew this meant she had run the guy's name through the computer and come up snake eyes.

"And you are?"

"I am always prepared myself," she replied in a stiff, but playful manner.

Mal saw the guy's posture stiffen as he puffed his chest and stood with his arms slightly back, tilting his head so the companion could get a good look at his clean-cut handsome features. Turning away, the captain feigned interest in his crates of produce instead.

"On what world did you find such pearls?" the vision of perfection queried, gliding toward shadow, one hand caressing the safety rail beside her.

"Surely you remember them cascading from around your feet?"

"What?" She halted before the set of steps she'd been about to descend.

"When you were borne aloft upon the frothy seas and expelled from that scalloped shell?"

Mal turned back, a sneer of incomprehension upon his features that became disbelief when Inara laughed gently and glided down before them. "A well-educated man with a sense of humor," she surmised, extending a hand his way.

He stepped closer to clasp her fingers and perform a half-bow, but failed to kiss her hand. "Tell me she is not your wife," Flint begged.

Before Mal could respond, Inara replied, "Heavens no, Mr. Fortner…or whatever your name is."

"Indeed," he said, bowing again with a grin of pleasure upon his features.

"Are they oyster pearls, clam or scallop?"

"Something far more rare and exotic," he admitted.

"I could only compare them with similar examples, and as such know only that they are unusually large and of desirable shape and luster."

"I could not be bothered with anything less."

"Are you a gemologist?"

He stepped sideways and let his eyes travel the vessel's interior. "Are you my tour guide?"

"Yes," Mal blurted, tired of the ridiculous game. "Have fun."

Inara looked at the captain with mild surprise, and then accepted the arm extended for her so she could show the stranger about like a proper gentleman and lady.

Jayne came walking up the cargo ramp at that moment, clutching a zippered canvas bag to his chest, proud of something he had bought, won, traded for or stolen.

Mentioned the captain, "Can't say I care much for the stink of this cargo."

The larger man paused near him and inhaled. "Smells like fruit to me."

"Me, too," Mal replied cryptically, and strode off.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Inara was more than happy to entertain the stranger in her quarters aboard one of the two shuttles _Serenity_ carried. Mal found this development exceedingly strange. If nothing else, the woman was particularly thorough and very cautious in her dealings with strangers. After they had left the atmosphere, she emerged with a twinkle in her eye, quick to giggle like a little girl as she strolled arm in arm with Mr. Fortner on his tour. In the dining area, Flint commented on the homey touches in the décor—floral paintings on the walls, comfortable lighting and warm colors. "You spend a lot of time together," he surmised. "You've known each other for some time. You're almost a family."

Mal lurked in shadow, trailing them silently through passageways. He didn't care for what the guy's casual glances told him. It almost seemed as though the stranger was a lot smarter than he needed to be, and that smacked of ulterior motives. Jayne showed up for a handful of blackberries, eating them from his palm like an animal, dark juice staining his lower face and wrist. He stared and chewed when Inara attempted to introduce him. The man turned his head slightly away, brows half risen, a faint smile upon lips that pulled to the right. He was anything but intimidated, though his amusement could have been a mask for actual nervousness. Whatever had caused the reaction, it only served to irritate Jayne.

"That guy's creepy," he told Mal after Flint had departed with the companion. "He smells like…a shallow creek or somethin'."

The captain cocked his head and eyed him strangely. "Just keep an eye on him," he said, pinching his flesh where the bridge of his nose protruded from the base of his forehead. "It may be nothing but…."

"But?" Jayne repeated.

"Nothin', nothin'. Don't go out of your way." He started off after the pair.

Jayne reached into his mouth with a forefinger in an effort to dislodge a seed from between two teeth.

They never saw the engine room. Kaylee intercepted them with an expectant look in her eyes and tall, handsome Flint took her hand in his and held it while she squirmed like a child, grinning and giggling. Mal couldn't figure out what it was about the guy that should cause such a reaction, but he bet himself it wouldn't have the same effect on River.

"Tour's over," he announced, abruptly sliding into their midst. "Time for a treat."

The women eyed him strangely. "Treat?" echoed Inara.

He clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. "Let's all go grab some ice cream."

Kaylee's face lit and Inara allowed her smile to spread.

"I'm not hungry," Flint admitted in near-sorrowful tones. "Is there a place where I might rest and refresh myself?"

Mal knew where this was heading. "We can set you up with a bunk-"

"He'll come with me," Inara spoke, smiling warmly while her eyes appeared distant and cold.

Not one for subtleties, Mal glared at her but she did not back down.

Flint stood between them, his gaze drifting as though recalling a particularly pleasing bit of music he'd heard once long ago. "On second thought, a light repast might be welcome after all."

"A what?"

"Snack," Inara clarified for Mal, ushering her guest back to the dining area.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Simon gestured to Mal from the corridor, and the captain excused himself from the table. "River wanted me to tell you that she thinks we're being tailed."

Unsurprised, he asked, "Has she identified 'em?"

"Everything identifies it as a scrapper, but she's insisting it's some kind of a threat."

"Scrap ship's a good disguise," Mal admitted, "'cept they ain't known for speed or firepower."

"She insisted that I alert you."

"Stay away from our guest," he warned Dr. Tam before heading for the bridge.

"What's the frequency, River?" the captain joked as he entered her domain. His pilot was barefooted, curled up in her seat like she expected tea, a cat, and a good book.

The girl pointed to a monitor. "Company."

"Really?" He studied the image, then replayed the footage recorded in the last few minutes. "Looks like she's keeping pace, but far beyond most weapons' range."

"They want our cargo," she told him, and he knew she was not referring to blackberries.

"Friendly hail?"

She slid from her seat and grabbed an antique digiscanner. "Have a look."

_Serenity's_ computer had identified the vessel as a Scarab-class scrap vessel—an old, but serviceable model still in use in the outer limits. Accepting the device she offered, he activated it and held it up to his eyes, gazing in the direction she indicated. "The hell?" He rechecked the ship's computer, making it perform a fresh scan. "Everything says scrapper. Even these old optics are calling it Scarab-class _unknown_…but what I'm actually seeing…."

"Unknown," she agreed.

He gazed again, pressing the cushioned face guards against his cheeks, using a forefinger to scroll through the options the optical device gave him. When he overlaid various glowing-line renditions of known vessels over the object he studied, it flashed and insisted what he was looking at was a junk-hauler without the match being close to resembling what his eyes could see. "'zis thing broke?"

"High technology," the small girl replied with a shrug. "Projecting a mask."

"A mask?" She was suggesting that the unknown vessel was emitting some sort of a signal that was causing their equipment to recognize it as something other than what it was. "Alliance?" he asked.

"They just want the cargo," she repeated nonchalantly.

Despite her supreme self-confidence, Mal still grew twitchy when she reacted to horrific threats like they were mere training exercises designed specifically for her. He knew she had not met Mr. Fortner, so he turned her way and lowered the ungainly goggle-like device. "What do you know about him anyway?"

She did something that scared him then. Slinking back into the pilot's seat, her eyes grew large and round and innocent and she responded softly with, "Nothing. At all."


	6. Chapter 6

6

Mal was easily able to convince Jayne and Simon to take up arms and follow him. Kaylee only agreed to cover them if things went awry, but otherwise refused to participate. "He's harmless!" she protested.

"There's a ship out there running a parallel course. It's like nothing I've ever seen. It's registering as a harmless scrapper on all our equipment. They're looking for _him_," he told her. "Or, they're in league with him."

"You don't know that," she retorted.

"I do. And I command you as your Captain to come with us and shoot him if necessary."

She rolled her eyes. "Jian ta de gui."

Simon was perplexed by her behavior, trying to balance it off Mal's reaction. He was operating on what his sister had told him. Kaylee was basing her feelings on personal experience. River was never wrong…although what might seem crystal clear to her could be easily misconstrued by anyone attempting to get information out of her. So he'd decided to side with Mal, and was beginning to think of the young mechanic's behavior as a possible symptom.

Jayne asked, "Do we flush 'im out an airlock or fill 'im full of holes?"

"We'll see how things play out," was Mal's reply. "He might use Inara as a hostage or a shield." Looking at Kaylee, he added, "or she might have already allied herself with him."

Simon closed in on him, squeezing past Jayne. "Do you think he's somehow drugged them?"

Mal had been thinking about the progression of events and admitted softly, "all I know for a fact is that he's had direct skin-to-skin contact with both of them. Now as to whether he carries some concealed device that administers some kind of...of controlling substance, or somehow has something on his hands already-"

"Don't let 'im touch ya. Got it," Jayne interrupted, pushing past them, more of an action guy than a talker.

Mal quickly resumed the lead. The lock between vessels was open and they paused just outside of it, listening. From within they could hear Inara describing an old piece of carved jade she was fond of and what it meant to her. Mal dropped his weapon to the side of one thigh and knocked lightly, entering before being acknowledged. "Inara," he said with a broad smile he emphasized with a light chuckle, "could I speak to you for just a moment?"

She whipped her head in his direction, displeased, noticed his stance and softened slightly. "Please show me the courtesy of waiting for permission before you enter next time. You know how crucial privacy is to my well-being." She rose elegantly, turning to her guest to say, "Please forgive me."

He nodded understandingly and watched her move away.

Before she could reach him, however, Simon barged through the doorway at a stumble and Kaylee was shoved in behind him, knocking into Mal. They turned to see Jayne with his own weapon in one hand and Kaylee's in the other. He waved the weapons across his field of view, then took a step back and slapped the emergency airlock activator. The group surged toward the doorway, discovering with confusion that he was manually releasing the shuttle from _Serenity's_ clutch. Inara lunged toward the shuttle control console. Mal saw Jayne fire a weapon into the control panel on his side of the airlock door, damaging it. No one noticed the stranger seated on a low, padded bench as he stared incredulously at his own upraised hands and plucked at the clothing he wore.

Inara seized the controls and tried to override the manual release. Mal loomed over her to see if he could help and she turned suddenly to seize his weapon from him, aiming it at his chest. He straightened in alarm, hands raised. She kicked him in the gut hard enough to lessen the threat he posed, then kept the weapon trained his way while she warmed up the small craft's engines and launched them free of _Serenity_.

Simon, suspecting some sort of pharmaceutically-enhanced brainwashing, attempted to move in from one side.

Fortner emitted a bizarre, high-pitched yodel and leaped to his feet, distracting them all with a look of crazed horror in his eyes.

Inara locked in a trajectory that would send them on a harmless, slow shot to nowhere in particular, then fired point-blank into the controls. She screamed shrilly, dropping the weapon as she stood trembling, shocked by her own behavior.

"_Gorramit!" _Flint roared, fists clenched before him. "What the hell is going on here?" He paused, deflated, when he saw Simon swing his weapon toward his face.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Back on _Serenity_, Jayne turned around, dropping his weapons and lifting his hands as he faced River Tam. There was a silence as she continued slowly toward him like a stalking cat. He watched her calmly, confident. "They've turned to intercept us."

The girl straightened some, still glaring up at him past her lowered brows. "Promise me they won't go after them."

He relaxed his stance. "It's only me they want."

She straightened fully and smiled grimly. "'zat your best disguise?"

Glancing down at himself, he chuckled. "So…this guy's not like Mr. Popularity, huh? I had to do the best I could in the time I had to get rid of them." He genuflected before her. "But, before we go any further with this, I need to ask…do you want me to find you a safe place to hole up in before this begins?"

River squinched her face up as she giggled.


	8. Chapter 8

8

The approaching vessel was aware of when the shuttle left _Serenity_. It closely monitored as much of the activity as it could, knowing precisely when Mr. Flint Fortner's consciousness had traded places with Jayne and Inara's, giving him control of each of their bodies while they were mentally cast into the previous one he had occupied. The crew of the unknown craft had been hunting Mr. Fortner for some time, chasing him from Royal Ridge to Redberry, Peartree to Hopewell, and even to some of the mining outposts like Nautilus and Middlesex. They were never certain where his loyalties lay; he was an unusually cunning and intelligent aberration. At times over the years they had thought him convinced of their efforts, willing to make grand sacrifices to aid them in their quest; at others they had considered him a traitor to their cause and even, potentially, one of the biggest threats to their continued existence.

Aware he sought the same prize as they, tailing him was always the best idea. What they had no way of knowing was what he would do once he had acquired it. Where would his loyalties lie at that moment? Would he show compassion, helping ease them back from the brink of extinction, or would he personally see to the destruction of every last one of their kind?

If only they had some means of controlling him.


	9. Chapter 9

9

"You won't harm me," River announced, watching him make preparations for the battle to come. "But…I don't know if you're good or bad."

"I won't harm you," he agreed, moving crates that should have been too large for him to budge. "I never wanted the crew mixed up in this, and I will do everything in my power to keep the ship and its contents intact. This is not your battle."

"My ship," she said, and he knew that wasn't entirely true.

"They won't care about you unless you show them you're a threat. The worst thing they might decide to do is use you…but I don't think they will."

"How come?"

He smiled at her. She had adapted quickly to the idea that there was a different mind functioning behind Jayne's eyes. "Because you're human." He stood surveying the job he'd done in the cargo bay, and then headed for the galley.

"Super-human," she gloated like a little girl who believes she is an angel or a princess because of how many times other people have told her so.

He paused. "I know what you are. I know _why_ you are. I even know how the idea behind your transformation came about long, long ago."

"You don't know me."

He smiled.

He raided the galley for protein, and knowing that he only had River's cooperation so long as she was willing to give it and no actual control over her whatsoever, he failed to banish her while he further prepared himself.

"Jayne wouldn't like that," she observed, sitting on a nearby countertop.

He had removed Jayne's shirt and footwear. "So long as I survive, he'll get his body back intact."

"How do you-" she tried to ask, pantomiming a hopping gesture around her head.

"I have abilities…innate to me. I was born human…but also…underwent a transformation."

She reached to touch his arm and he gave her a peculiar look. The only thing she'd feel was Jayne's skin. He was aware of her psychic reach and was able to interpret what she experienced using his own abilities. "You want what I have," he mentioned quietly.

"I am…," she struggled for the most satisfying word.

"Astounding, superior, nigh invulnerable, mighty?" he suggested in a slightly teasing manner.

"…but you have more…."

"_Different,"_ he corrected. "From what I can tell just by studying you," he said, reaching to touch her brow over her right eye with his fingertips and trace the line of her eyebrow with a faint caress, "you surpass me in thought speed and efficiency and your body reacts to situations in a way I can only describe as..._controlled involuntary movement_. Most of your psychic ability seems to stem from your extraordinary powers of observation—I mean, I've never met anyone who was constantly aware of all five senses simultaneously—and your enhanced reasoning and deductive skills backed by an already impressive intellect allows you to make startlingly accurate predictions regarding events to come."

She plucked his hand away to turn it and study his palm. Then she tapped the center of it. "Can you come out of there?"

"Yes."

She looked at him and shook her head. "No…I mean, _completely._"

He gently withdrew his hand. "While I dearly wish we had the time to fully explore each other, I'm afraid I will soon be making a quick getaway."

"Kaylee will have rudimentary repairs completed soon."

"Then I need you to contact them and tell them it is not yet safe to return to this vessel."

Offering a slight crooked smile, the girl skipped off and the stranger worked to complete his odd preparations before the newcomers arrived to abduct him or worse.


	10. Chapter 10

10

When it was within range, the alien vessel emitted a siddaural pulse that knocked out most of _Serenity's_ systems. River worked to restore gravity and boost their dwindling supply of fresh air by restarting the scrubbers. The stranger had told her not to bother restoring full capability until the event was over. She relaxed in the pilot's seat, flipping switches when the onboard computers prompted and monitoring the programs she brought back up one at a time.

She knew the stranger was attempting to elude capture whilst simultaneously hunting someone himself. The entities that were using a magnetic coupling to hook up to _Serenity_ were like him, and yet different. It was his differences that made him special to them. While she was able to appreciate the significant danger he posed, she also knew that he would do everything in his power to ensure her safety—and that notion made her giggle softly in the dimly lit cockpit surrounded by heavenly bodies, for it had been a very long time since she had felt like someone who required protecting.

The other vessel was huge. Even though she could see glimpses of it on the ship's external monitors and even through a couple of the viewing ports,_ Serenity_ insisted it was a mere scrap collector's vessel. What she saw did not look the least bit human in origin. If anything, the strange vessel possessed an organic look as though it had been grown and not assembled. While parts gleamed with a sheen that reminded her of the carapaces of certain types of beetle with the pearlescence of fish scales, most of the craft was the color of long-dead bone, some of it bleached, parts stained a sickly orange rust color or even charcoal black-brown. It did not so much emit light through what she took for viewports as give off an etheric glow that brought to mind examples of bioluminescence she had seen on lesson feeds in her younger days.

No alien species had been encountered in the five hundred years that humans had been colonizing other worlds. Nothing sentient anyway, but River knew the odds were in favor of other sentient life forms existing elsewhere in the Verse. She believed Mr. Fortner when he said he was human, from Earth That Was, but recognized that he was also somehow more…_evolved_. She sensed he was far older than he looked, and survival skills like that indicated a potentially dangerous mind.

He had instructed her to remain at the controls, assured her that she would be safe if she stayed out of the way, that he'd do everything in his power to keep any damages to a minimum. She had contacted Inara's shuttle, told them it wasn't safe to return, but assured them everything was okay before cutting the transmission. Then she'd sent out a second communication. She offered no resistance to the hunters hunting her passenger, played no games with them. This was not her battle and Flint apologized for bringing it to her ship.

_Serenity_ had only a few interior surveillance cameras—mainly the cargo bay and the engine room, but there were comms throughout the ship she could eavesdrop with. With the stealth of a ninja she could vanish within the bowels and shadows, traveling undetected wherever she wished, but her passenger was psychic and she was convinced that his pursuers were as well.

But the whole thing was just so danged fascinating!

River Tam could use virtually anything as a weapon, but she preferred actual weapons to random objects, so she picked up a few items from the cockpit before lacing on her boots and exiting for a front-row seat to excitement.

She knew that despite her silent, liquidy movement and ease of blending with shadows that her presence was known. Heights and darkness enhanced her self-confidence, so she lingered far above them, watching, willing her mind as still as stone.

Three of them had crossed into_ Serenity_ and stood staring at Flint just a few meters away. Any other person would have seen four mere men below, each of them confident, calm, still, at ease. Their postures and collected exteriors, clean-cut and conservative, bespoke government agents, military, or at the least formal education combined with some kind of an intense athletic background. To River's trained mind and extraordinary powers of observation they weren't even human; clearly predators of some sort, fierce warriors, deadly as mambas. Everything about them indicated superlative entities in masquerade: slight motion, a nostril flare, the way their eyes roved, the stillness of their bodies. She repositioned herself for a better look at Flint Fortner who, of course, inhabited Jayne's body, and could see the differences between him and the others. Whatever entity called itself Flint Fortner, while still clearly incognito, was very obviously more comfortable in the form he occupied. So, he was therefore likely human as he had had indicated. And yet the three newcomers, so very much akin to him, seemed distinctly less human to her. _Aliens_, she thought, adrenaline flooding her, her wan cheeks flushing as her irises enlarged with anticipation. Real live sentient alien beings!

None of them spoke. Telepathic, there was no need for verbalization. Like practitioners of the Zen arts, they waited until the moment to act presented itself, and it was Flint who made the first move. Wearing only Jayne's skivvies, he twisted his body left abruptly, lashing out with his right arm and drawing it around himself in a great arc, spraying acid from pores that had opened up along the inside of the limb. The liquid smoked wherever it landed and the trio of man-shaped aliens zipped away, writhing momentarily with pain while Flint dashed to one side, concealing himself within the maze of cargo. The entire event had taken only seconds and a normal person might've thought he'd tossed a handful of smoking objects and run, but River saw it play out before her in something like slow-motion, and her eyes widened a tad farther as she came to recognize the deadly capabilities of a superlative shape-shifter.

For the first time in a long time she fleetingly wondered if she was safe. She had been mentally conditioned to take on and overcome humans and felt confident she could easily out-thwart most vicious animals as well…but this was different, far beyond her repertoire of skills. Jayne did not exude acid. An entity able to manipulate his molecules like putty and reproduce anything found in nature with the speed of thought was something else entirely.

Below her an alien dropped flat and slithered like a skink, partially emerging from his clothing and dragging what remained caught by his altered form. Another elongated his body grotesquely, his neck stretching until it looked like he couldn't possibly support his bulbous head, the eyes slowly emerging and reaching higher on stalks of flesh so he or _it_ could better survey the scene. She saw Jayne's form contort, the muscles sliding over a warping skeleton beneath sweat-sheened skin, and then Flint's misshapen head shot up in her direction, the peculiarly shaped eyes locking on her as a rictus peeled lips too far back from nightmarish teeth that drooled a silvery beard down from the nearly absent chin.

She jolted, comprehending that he wanted her out of there. Her brain could not account for the whereabouts of one of the creatures and she fled swiftly like a spider through hull bracings and scaffold-like struts, aware of the most likely direction the missing creature would come from.

Why would they be after her? Flint had purged their store of protein and most of their other edibles as well, encasing them within swollen living pockets of Jayne's flesh he had then deposited about the ship to slowly digest the matter, making it available for his use at a moment's notice. He'd very briefly described how his body burned through fuel at a horrendous rate in order to allow him to alter his form. Without it he'd claimed he could potentially dwindle away to nearly nothing, hot and badly dehydrated, what was left of his mass shrinking into an incredibly dense cyst he could survive as perhaps indefinitely…although at the price of tremendous discomfort and the loss of most of his life functions. She had imagined him as something like a pale pill-bug, curled upon itself into a living sphere, warm to the touch and incapable of resuming its former appearance. That was the moment she had desired Flint Fortner as a pet.

She dropped to a catwalk and ran, unable to hear anything in pursuit, but sensing that she remained in grave danger. Her own pet alien, she mused, her body functioning on automatic, set to survival mode while her relatively unconcerned conscious mind wandered. Just add water and a little food and he could be her own talking pony or the smartest dog in the whole Verse!

Movement to her right, just behind her as she launched herself sure as a gibbon past a railing and caught a lower one that paralleled a flight of steps. She whipped around the metal, hugging her body to it, and saw the compact, powerful beast Flint had become latch onto a huge, leathery, bat-like primate that had been about to scoop her into the air. The bat-thing screeched as they cleared the catwalk and slammed into a bulkhead, Flint's amazing, thick, scimitar-tipped digits shredding the creature that raked his face, trying to free itself from a massive set of jaws ringed with a palisade of thick, conical teeth.

Swinging from the railing to land on the steps as lightly as a cat, River grinned with excitement, ran up five steps on all fours, then launched herself flying-squirrel-style toward an open-topped crate of blackberries. She landed gracefully, legs and arms splayed so that she balanced upon the edges and never bruised a fruit. The crate beneath her shuddered when something sank claws into a side, making its way up toward her, and she vaulted upward, spinning her lithe form and twisting it so that she managed to land upon her feet. When the creature's head poked around a corner and saw her, she was smiling like it was her first visit to a country fair, eyes glittering mischievously.

The alien shot a long-fingered, webbed paw her way and she jinked her body reflexively to the side, misjudging the length of the limb that propelled it. Her smile faltered momentarily. There were no set rules with these entities. Their capabilities remained an unknown. She sprinted halfway up a crate and back flipped down at an angle that caught her on the floor balanced only on heels and one hand. The momentum of her still running legs spun her and she pushed upward violently, forcing her body from the floor at an improbable angle she quickly recovered from without breaking stride. Wood splintered behind her. She tried to clear a crate too fast and barked a shin on its leading edge. Ignoring the sharp pain, she tucked and rolled, finding herself seated before a wall. Behind her, the unnatural beast's claws scrabbled over the textured flooring as its momentum threatened to send it sideways. River looked up, moved with blinding speed, whipping one leg up and behind herself as she pushed upward until she reached the metal box mounted on the wall and struck it so that it popped open with a rattle. The alien got a good grip with a right forepaw and propelled itself toward her, rear legs flailing, mouth parting as it stared at her right thigh. She ripped a large firearm from its clamps so fast that metal unbent and a rivet went flying. Her finger found the trigger as she spun and managed to shoot Flint in the skull at point-blank range as his form swept her attacker to the side. She saw the large caliber projectile pucker his flesh, saw minute specks of flesh and bone fly free even as he was crashing down upon the thing that almost had her, watched the dark explosion bloom from the far side of his thick, rounded head, eyes bulging for a moment, breath expelled.

It was just her against an unknown. She reached for a second weapon without tearing her eyes from the collapsing aliens. Could she hold them off with sidearms? Was a single headshot sufficient to drop them?

The smaller creature emitted a wheezing squeal. She thought she heard bones break. Somehow, Flint had managed to increase his size by perhaps double. Beady eyes found her and the small, flat face and pointed ears focused on her. The webbed claws bit into flooring and the alien tried to pull itself from under the ruined hulk that pinned it, a crescent grin of shark-like teeth nearly encircling its skull.

The large-caliber handgun swung between them and her finger was contracting when a horrible, thick, bruise-purple wetness exploded from the alien's mouth, teeth flying like scattered chess pieces. The event was so unexpected that River hopped in place and brought the second gun around, ready to deal the thing a double dose of death. The dark, slug-like thing recoiled, snapping the alien's neck as it whipped it back into a vast cavity she could see had opened in Flint's huge chest as the thing she had shot lifted itself on four limbs and hauled the remains of the smaller creature up into itself, growing larger with accumulated mass.

River swallowed, still smiling, her eyes gone a little dreamy.

Flint turned his damaged head her way, the eyes realigning themselves in the skull, the pucker in his forehead just a dimple, the liquid that had sprayed his upper back and shoulders reabsorbing into his flesh. "They see you as a source of mass," he thought he said, a mouth designed for killing and not human speech turning each syllable into a heavy mush.

River understood and leaped clear of the horror, scanning for the missing alien even as she made her way back upward, seeking the most direct route to the bridge.

She dropped one of the guns and watched it tumble downward curiously. Then she looked at her hand. Movement from the left drew her attention and she saw a small platoon of newcomers, uniformed and armed. One of them had shot the gun from her hand with its own weapon. She turned her body and fired at them with her remaining weapon even as she ran. Guns only slowed them for a second, she realized. She was no threat to them—just food.


	11. Chapter 11

11

River fled, but not for the bridge. From the cargo bay she heard grunts and squeals and crashes. She raced for Jayne's quarters. Locking herself within, she ransacked the room, quickly locating what she thought might best help her. She loaded all she could atop a sheet, seized the corners, and then emerged from the cramped space dragging the bundle behind her.

Returning to the battle armed with more weapons from Jayne's personal stash, she ignored the commotion around her and made for the connector between_ Serenity_ and the alien vessel. Anything that distracted her got shot. So the creatures required mass and energy to grow larger or to replace what they lost while shifting. They had the ability to heal themselves almost spontaneously, and their anatomy or ability to alter it at will allowed them to survive what would normally be fatal injuries. Flint had consumed at least two of the beings, so clearly that was one of their weaknesses, but the question remained if Flint could be overpowered and consumed himself.

A lean, long-limbed, spidery thing landed softly before her and mantled its willowy body in preparation of seizing her. She cut it in two with an automatic burst and watched the result with morbid fascination. The upper half crawled toward the nearest upright surface, changing shape as it went. Extra limbs emerged, sprouting spatulate toes that allowed it to walk up the wall. While she was watching, she felt something tug at the bundle she'd been dragging and released it. The creature before her shot a length of thick, gobby, wet webbing at its oozing lower half and dragged it close. She could hear snuffling and other odd sounds behind her. The pale, fleshy, insectile thing she had mowed down seized its own lower body and began to devour it through a hexagonal-shaped mouth that flared open like an umbrella to accept the large morsel. It was unnerving enough to make her close her eyes and turn away. When she looked again she glanced right and saw that two of the creatures were greedily tearing into the sack of goodies she had pilfered from Jayne's quarters.

A large man who relieved tension by working out when he wasn't planetside, Jayne could be a voracious eater and had had been yelled at several times by his shipmates when he'd gone for snacks the size of complete meals in the middle of the night. Genuinely hungry and tired of being scolded for desiring seconds and thirds, he'd begun smuggling treats on board that he hid in his quarters. Proclaiming himself a die-hard carnivore, the bulk of his treasure consisted of salt-cured or smoked hams, dried and tinned meats, and prepackaged pork rinds. There were also a few packs of nuts and some sweets in the mix, but as she'd suspected, the aliens were happy to increase themselves with things that didn't run, struggle, or shoot at them.

She walked beneath the swelling spider-thing and entered the airlock. It smelled faintly of swamp silt rich with decayed matter, stagnant water, rotting vegetation. Nothing impeded her progress, and she continued on until the surface beneath her felt like fine, unglazed porcelain and had taken on a pearlescent sheen. The humidity was startling, the lighting dim and faintly blue-green. Texture in the short tunnel appeared all around her like veins, striating every surface and growing thicker the farther she went. River got the impression of entering an ancient, dank, swamp-filled forest and guessed they were hints of what the alien creatures' homeworld must be like.

The corridor widened slightly and grew darker still. She traveled until the floor beneath her feet felt too treacherous to safely traverse, thick with something that mimicked tree roots. The heavy, heady stink was far stronger and in the dimness she noted two distinct things—faint lights above and around her sunk within creepy little recesses, and water dripping from hundreds of uneven surfaces.

High above her soft lights blinked out and her brain informed her it was not an electrical function but an indistinct silhouette eclipsing them as it prowled.

"I'm not afraid," she called in her naturally soft voice, lifting a pair of sidearms.

"Nor do I fear you," replied a soft, warm, velvety voice too near her. She tensed, but failed to sense any movement from the direction she thought the voice had come from.

"You speak English well."

"Every language that I speak, I speak well."

Movement continued above her. The voice had sounded closer than before, but had emanated from a different direction. "I demand that you evacuate my ship immediately."

"Miss Tam," said the voice from very near her own foot, "we have unfinished business here."

"You're losing. Flint Fortner will consume you all."

"That would be wasteful," the thing replied from below and behind her although the thing above her was close enough that it made her body hair stand on end.

"Take your battle elsewhere."

"Perhaps it would be helpful if you thought of it as more of…a test."

She whispered, "What is he to you?"

Something murky and bluish lowered into her field of vision and faint ambient light gleamed across large eyeballs centimeters from her own. When it spoke again she could feel and smell its breath—vaguely sweet and oddly musky as though it had recently eaten something warmly fragrant with a peppery finish. "Our kind must test each other constantly to find our places in the hierarchy."

"So, he's important."

The figure oozed from above, slowly maneuvering itself directly before her. "When your species is critically endangered, every member becomes vitally important."

But Flint was tearing through them like Jayne through a pouch of jerky. "He doesn't feel that way."

"Innately he does," the alien assured her, seeming to swell in her vision, growing hotter and fuller, upright so it seemed.

"How could he bring his own kind to near-extinction?"

A hand that contained only two slender digits reached forward to pat the top of her head. River's breath caught in her throat as she realized she was unable to pull away. She uttered soft syllables of protest as she concentrated on moving more than her mouth and eyes, only to learn she was practically paralyzed in place. "Did he tell you what he's after? It's another of our kind who has actually been attempting to repopulate our species."

"He said he's human."

"My dear child," the thing said, enjoying her extreme discomfort as it allowed its warm, softly furred body and leathery fingers to glide freely over her slight form, "we all originate from the same source."

"Evolutionary variance."

"Yes," it said, its voice seemingly masculine, though she could not actually be certain of a gender. "Poor thing. Far, far out of her element. Attuned to deal only with her own kind. What sort of horrid individuals seek to do such damage to their own kind? To decide for themselves who is worthy of life and who is not? To determine through…_whim_ who shall lead and who shall mutely follow or succumb to talents such as your own?"

"You are poison," River muttered angrily.

"You chose to ally yourself with an alien creature solely on the fact that he appeared clean to you, pleasant, well-educated, and unwilling to risk the lives of your companions."

She had chosen to ally herself with him due to her near-psychic intuition. She set her jaw and willed herself to remain calm.

The thing slithered around her. She could actually see a sort of odd movement in the shadows beneath it that suggested something along the lines of a slug or snake, perhaps even a pinniped. "Think what you like, justify your behavior any way that pleases you." The thing chuckled as it wound itself about her like a python. "Thought you'd sneak aboard, try and take us out, sabotage our ship. Little girl," the thing said, resting the soft spot beneath its short, wide jaw atop her head while wrapping its oddly proportioned forelimbs about her from behind, "feeling just a little overwhelmed?"

"You sent your people to be slaughtered," she accused.

"We did not confront him as an act of suicide."

"I don't-" she began, but the thing lowered its massive head to lightly nuzzle her right ear. Its breath was hot, the fur on its broad nose short and velvety.

"Rule number one of dealing with an alien species: _never_ think of them as human."

And in that moment, helpless, even her superior intellect useless because she had no idea what she was dealing with, anger drained right out of her and her upper nose began to ache a little just below where it met her forehead. She refused to cry. Her friends and brother were still safe and this creature could have easily killed her by now had it so desired. So long as she lived there was always a chance that things would somehow go back to normal. The nightmare would end and she'd be the wiser for it. "You don't know if he will fail or succeed."

"This is how we test his worthiness."

"Worthy of what?" she queried softly.

"To lead us."

"To extinction?"

"We embrace our destiny."

"Then why…is he after the other guy? Is he also being tested?"

"We are, all of us, always being tested."

There had been no other sounds aside from the drip of water and the movements of the thing that had her. The vessel was large, but there didn't seem to be any other life forms present. She doubted it held such a small complement, but at the moment she and it seemed to be alone. "What should I call you?"

"Whatever comes to mind."

She mumbled, "Furry slug."

"As you wish."

"Your homeworld…has elevated methane and carbon content with high temperatures and humidity with a swampy topography."

"The main one does," the thing allowed, startling her with a long, slow lick from a thick, smooth wet tongue from her shoulder up past her ear into her hairline.

"How did you trap me?"

"All I required was the slightest touch. At that point I controlled it. You," it amended. "I deprived you of sensation below the waist and grew your toes through your boots and into the floor like roots. The rest of you I manipulate as I please."

"I've never…imagined a life form like you."

"But then your imagination is so severely limited," it snarled, coiling around her again. "Oh, I know they consider you a genius, I understand what was done to you, to_ enhance_ you…and I am capable of undoing it."

"When I am free," River explained calmly, "I will kill you."

"You might try," the creature admitted lazily, pooling itself on the floor around her feet. "Would you like me to reverse the damage that was done to you, sweet child? Would you like to become Dr. River Tam, to help others instead of killing them? To become a bastion of peace and well-being instead of an instrument of death?"

"They say the devil's tongue is sweet."

"I know you don't believe in such fairy tales. I assure you that I am not temptation incarnate, but I can make so many of your innermost fantasies perfectly real."

"Why would you?"

"A gift," the being said, rolling onto its back.

"At great cost."

"No charge. After all, we are just here, the two of us now doing nothing more productive than killing time."

"I…." She reveled in her new confidence, was frequently amazed by her own abilities, thought of herself as a magnificent example of what the human mind and body could be capable of, but…she still loved the laughter of children, was envious when she saw someone receive a loving caress, recalled what having a nice home felt like; full of personality and meaningful artifacts from the past. "Like myself fine," she concluded.

"Then," the furry slug said as it stretched and writhed luxuriantly, allowing her to gauge its length at about four meters, its weight somewhere near 500 kilos, "what if I offer you completion? Correct the errors? Bring you up to full capacity and control?"

"I'll evolve on my own."

"Silly child," the thing said. "I don't require great lengths of time, pain, or a laboratory. A few moments right now if it pleases you, and you will become the equal of your peers."

She knew there were others who had been similarly experimented upon. "If I am not like them, then I will find my own unique ways."

"You could far surpass them even now." The dark shape seemed to prop itself on one side, watching her. "Imagine, if you will, becoming…like _us."_

"You?" she asked distastefully.

"Like your dear friend and confidant Mr. Fortner," it said soothingly. "Your mind is limitless, but your body is not. Now, what if it was? What if you could manipulate matter as easily as thought? Make it assume any feature, any function at all? Suddenly you are not only a weapon, but the ultimate survivalist as well."

"You can't do that."

"Flint Fortner was born on Earth over 500 years ago to very human parents. Completely human. No special abilities, nothing out of the norm. Ask him yourself."

The notion thrilled her. She could be so much more…if this creature was telling the truth. If it could really alter her and allow her to live as she chose. "But...then you will hunt me. To test me."

"You were correct, then," the thing sighed, using human inflections, tones, and gestures. "I suppose there is a cost after all."

"Were you human?"

"Only ever by choice," the thing replied, shrinking back into shadow. She found she could move again, but her feet remained planted through her ruined boots deep into the matrix of the alien vessel below her. River reflexively squeezed the weapons in her hands, but saw no point in utilizing them. If anything, she was more apt to shoot her way through her own ankles in order to free herself.


	12. Chapter 12

12

On board_ Serenity_, the remaining aliens had succumbed to each other until only one remained, larger and all the more powerful from the consumption of his comrades. His kind had rank, not names. They had each been selected carefully for the mission in case it came down to a case of them against their quarry. In an ideal situation, the one who currently called himself Flint would find reason in their position and join them peacefully. After all, they were seeking the same thing.

Flint had at times been a cooperative agent, and at others an unpredictable rebel. Unlike them, this former human, this homo sapiens of Earth, was capricious in his nature, his allegiances shifting as his knowledge of the ways of the universe evolved. While they were very much aware of how their kind would ultimately succumb to extinction, Flint's future remained unforeseeable regardless of the fact that he was practically one of them. His line was aberrant, divergent, and potentially able to survive at a higher level of existence as a newly formed subspecies. In the meantime he remained a threat to their more immediate plans. Extinction was still a ways off if all things continued along their most likely course, but Flint and their common prey—another aberrant—both had the capability of derailing their existence as they knew it. Did Flint hunt his man to join with his cause or to undermine him? Telepathic as they were, despite near-constant surveillance, they never knew for certain. He was a wild card. A catalyst that could alter their destiny, prolonging it for his own perverse means.

The aliens didn't think of extinction as devastation or a loss of any kind. They believed it was just another word to describe further evolution. They did not require a corporeal housing in order to exist, and in fact had discovered by accident that their kind, once forcefully ejected from the flesh, could locate other disembodied of their type and bond with them, focusing their combined energies and becoming a variation of the species on their own. This had angered some of those who had anticipated the end of their species in its entirety and intrigued those willing to postpone the inevitable in order to study this new phenomenon.

At any given time, Flint had as much difficulty determining which faction of aliens he was dealing with as they did determining where his own interests lay. At various times some of the aliens had proven themselves friends and others duplicitous enemies capable of manipulating him psychologically as easily as they could alter their own flesh.

Clearly the one who faced him now within the debris that remained of _Serenity's_ cargo was not his friend. It had adopted a near formless shape, something like a nimble jellyfish bristling with slender, probing feelers. It moved slowly toward his position no matter where he went, stretching when he sought refuge above it. It was exhausting him by remaining calm, yet persistent. He had once done the same thing to a particularly obnoxious pony when he'd been a veterinarian, wearing it down solely by walking in its direction no matter where it moved within a fenced pasture until exhaustion had finally allowed him to approach it for an examination.

If the alien was a plant, a spy sent to seek him out to join with his cause, then it would at the last moment willingly give itself to him. If not, then its confidence unnerved him. He might have finally met an alien with sufficiently high rank to incorporate his personality into itself.

It left a dark purple trail where it had slowly moved over spilled blackberries. Whatever the outcome, there was little sense in trying to stave it off. Six times his original shape and size, Flint launched himself at what was either the face of death or salvation. He spun in the hope of possibly striking the thing in enough of a manner to temporarily stun it, aware that River Tam had brazenly boarded the alien ship and waiting to help get her out of there before the rest of the creatures sent to capture him decided she'd make a nice, light snack. The blob-like lump of flesh extended itself to meet him, the large probe becoming concave at the end to help hold and absorb him. He also had the option of fleeing his physical housing for that of Miss Tam. He could co-occupy her form, gifting her with his shape-shifting abilities as they fought his enemies in tandem. As such they would become nearly invincible, for her ability to react impulsively thwarted his kind's efforts to anticipate her moves by reading her mind.

Of course it would only take one alien carrying more rank than himself to end them both at once, and he decided he'd rather give her whatever slight chance he could.

He extended powerful limbs tipped with thick red claws, catching flesh and shredding it as he fell. The blob-like alien's entire form shifted into a shape like a recently vacated bean-bag chair, ready to encompass him as gravity drew him down into its depths. He closed his eyes and swallowed. He had been through this exact scenario several times already, challenged by an entity that suspected itself more powerful, and each time there had been that final heartbeat, that moment when time seemed to freeze…and he'd regained consciousness, alive and all the more powerful for it.

The cushion of warm flesh caught him, slowed his descent and closed in around him.

He shuddered, blind but for a vague sensation of where brightness and shadow reigned. He'd come to imagine that if the other entity ever won, he would experience something like a black-out followed by a slow awakening into a dream-like state, seeing life through the eyes of the other creature, unable to control any further aspects of his existence. He struggled to form eyes and panickedly pushed limbs through the soft sides of his body, heating up as he condensed soft tissue into bones and tried to figure out the lay of the organs within his newly won, grotesque form. There were vibrations behind him. His eyes clouded as new ones formed in the direction he wanted to see in and a muzzle appeared, ears flapped forth, limbs contorted to orient him so that he faced his attackers.

The thing that propelled itself through the connector between the ships was only about four meters long, striding forward on elongated forelimbs, the lower body a single, somewhat conical mass that terminated in a broad fluke. Its back arched so it could scoot forward like a sea lion. Despite its very inhuman features, Flint could see the look of pleasure and contentment upon its furry face.

This was the alien waiting to challenge him in the event he had managed to overpower the last. This was the one who not only outranked the previous creature, but whose status was greater than that of all of those who had boarded before him combined. When all it took was a match of essences, physical size and strength meant absolutely nothing. Flint inhaled, allowing his new body to slowly warp around him, expelling heat and discarding excess matter as a repulsive lump of still-living, mindless flesh. He knew that River was trapped in the alien vessel, but was unconvinced she was utterly incapacitated. Her will was far too great, her determination a thing to be reckoned with. She was resourceful enough to survive if he failed, but probably would not last very long.

The thing before him watched him placidly. There was no need for posing or expressing bravado. He stood coldly, waiting to see what fate held for him. The other emanated a sensation of supreme confidence. Flint involuntarily shuddered. The alien rose up on its coiled tail and Flint finished detaching the bulk of the matter from his new body, letting it drop below. Crawling away from it, he was now less than half the size he had been and was even a little shorter than his foe. It was an act of defiance that declared he was unafraid and unwilling to surrender peacefully. It also left a nice lump of mass nearby in case he needed to replenish his store during the ensuing battle. He rose on hind legs and the alien dropped toward him. They writhed and grappled upright, each attempting to overpower the other. Flint saw it as a struggle for survival. The other found the experience wildly stimulating.

Flint allowed his body to alter shape as it would, not putting actual thought into what he was doing. Impulsive behavior was impossible for the telepath to anticipate. The alien rose to the challenge, focusing himself more deeply upon his prey, unaware he was intentionally being distracted from what was happening behind him. Growing suspicious, he finally flung his limbs wide with broad spans of flesh between them like a flying squirrel and attempted to envelop Flint.

An audible alarm sounded and red lights flashed around them. River had accessed the emergency override panel that opened the huge cargo bay door. A deafening wind tried to sweep them toward the widening gap, and the alien with the elongated sails of flesh went tumbling like a leaf into the frigid black of space.

Flint sank a claw into the lump of flesh he'd discarded, but the vacuum drew him and everything else that wasn't fastened in place toward it. River had lost a lot of blood after using a dagger to hack through her own flesh and splinter bone, destroying her feet in an effort to free herself. She had tried to squish herself into a tiny nook between a balustrade and the cargo bay doorframe, and was losing consciousness quickly, unable to gasp sufficient breath.

Flint Fortner shifted, flinging the soft ball of meat around as he was drawn to the exit, rotating like a flung bola, and was able to offset his trajectory enough so that he sank eight sets of claws into _Serenity's _frame, surrounding the little warrior. As she weakened, he caught and encompassed her, the freezing temperatures threatening to suck the moisture from his body. Hard, thick lenses formed over his eyes as they withdrew deeply into his skull. His extremities shrank rapidly, a few digits shattering and crumbling away. He drew the chunk of soft matter around himself as he fought to cling to the ship. River was safe down within the very depths of him. Physically and mentally connected, he asked her how to close the door and saw what needed to be done play out in his mind. While his flesh continued to shrink and harden, to form a protective cyst he could exist within until help arrived, he fought to extend an elongated flap of flesh like the foot of a clam, creeping it slowly until it cupped the control panel. He let River know what he had done and beneath the cup-like slab of flesh slender fingers emerged, only partially formed, and danced over the controls by rote.

When the door resumed its seal, secure once more, it managed to pinch a few dozen kilos of protruding soft flesh ensconced within a thick, hard shell, crushing it and expelling crystallized fluid into the void.


	13. Chapter 13

13

River finished extracting herself and stood bent, grateful for fresh air, a sheen of sweat making her glow, her dress rumpled and clinging moistly to her slim form. She wiped her hands down her arms as though she had been dipped in something revolting. Turning, she glanced at the reforming figure of Jayne seated against a wall, smiling at her from sleepy eyes. "Gross," she finally declared.

Smirking, he gestured to her ankles and said, "You're welcome."

She looked down and realized she was upright on two long, slender, pale feet nearly identical to the ones she'd had originally. The nails were perfect with squared-off edges, her soles baby-soft and free of callouses. Curious, she rose upon one set of toes, spun, then hopped and finished with a high kick. Smiling shyly, she muttered, "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Thank _you_."

"Could you have won?" she queried.

"I don't know. He's not dead, of course. His body would have shriveled and hardened into a protective cyst. He'll send out weak little psychic distress calls and maybe someday someone will find him. Or eat him."

They were aboard the alien vessel. Flint was using it to replenish depleted breathable air for _Serenity._

"This is your ship now?"

"Yeah. Not a bad little prize. No offense, but _Serenity_ doesn't quite serve my current needs."

"It did."

He cocked an eyebrow as he watched her flex her toes and rise up on them again.

"The alien knew my name."

"As did I," he admitted. "I even had an inkling of your capabilities and how they were acquired before I even set eyes on Kaylee on Smokerise." He adjusted his position on the textured floor. "The lot of you are already somewhat known in this quadrant. A Robin Hood-like band of survivors in an older model Firefly. There aren't many left in service. If you don't upgrade to something more commonplace, you'll only become more conspicuous."

"Then you planned to confront your pursuers and take this vessel all along?"

"But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep," he quoted.

She wandered a little way away from him and stared up into cavernous dimness. "He said you're hunting someone who can keep their kind from extinction."

"Extinction is not my concern. I am hunting someone who has something I dearly wish to acquire."

"A weapon?"

"Something like you."

She turned to face him. It was strange to be conversing with naked Jayne. "Why not me?"

"The girl I seek was…_created_ under different circumstances."

"Can she fight?"

"She can do…virtually anything."

River was skeptical. "_I_ can't do _everything_."

"You differ from her in that you are shockingly intelligent…and she is unable to function…_safely _without someone to guide her."

"Did the Alliance do that?"

"No," he sighed. "She was created over five hundred years ago."

"Could…I guide her?"

His eyes opened and he exhaled a sharp syllable of laughter. "If the two of you ever met, you'd likely be the most deadly force in the entire universe!"

She smiled, but it faded quickly. "Then we should never meet."

"That would probably be for the best," he agreed.

She fidgeted, turning her body side to side like a little girl. "He said you were human. Born to human parents. On Earth."

Jayne's focus turned inward and his voice softened. "I'm half alien. I was actually created from human matter, by an alien and a half-human alien."

"Bad math," she accused.

"It's more than a question of genetics. But, the man whose…essence, if you will, pervades me…he was the man that the alien was speaking of."

She seemed unconvinced. "What's your real name?"

"My half-alien father named me Weaver."

"Sounds like Reaver."

He gave a quick roll of his eyes. "I was named for an actress…due to the, ah,_ unusual_ way that I entered the world."

One of her brows lifted and she moved closer to him until she practically stood over him. "So…what do you really look like?"

"Sure you wanna see?"

Grinning, she nodded with excitement.

"Are you brave?"

"Are you kidding?"

Chuckling, he patted the floor beside himself. "Sit by me then and find out."

He waited until she was right beside him, staring him in the eye, his right and her left thigh touching. He closed his eyes and she remained still, fascinated while Jayne's body contorted in on itself, shrinking and sweating as its density increased, exuding an odor like musk and vaguely like swamp. His hair darkened and lengthened to what she guessed was roughly his favorite style, his forehead shrank as did much of his skull, the cheekbones lifting and softening, his nose flattening with a perky tip, jaw shrinking considerably as stubble peppered his skin. His neck circumference withered, his shoulders softened and slumped a little, Jayne's chest deflated and his ribcage collapsed upon itself while his midsection turned lean and less defined. His hips shrank, he lost length in spine and limbs, his joints shrank, his digits becoming smaller and far more slender. Intrigued, she lightly touched his arm and his eyes opened, the irises an astonishing shade of blue, the lashes long and dark. She had not expected anything like this. His mouth became smaller, the lips a bit more full. Still masculine, he was now distinctly more androgynous than Jayne had ever been, hair falling in his eyes, chin narrow. Her grip increased as she marveled at the heat his flesh put off and the feel of bone contorting. He breathed slowly and evenly, watching her study him, looking sleepier still. She finally met his gaze and they stared for a moment before she allowed her eyes to travel a stranger's body. Even his body hair patterns had altered.

River lifted her hand and looked at the palm before pressing it to her cheek in wonder. "You're so hot."

He grinned, trying not to respond in kind.

She reached for his face, brushed the long bangs to the side. "You're so young."

He took hold of her hand and shook his head. "It's just the way I feel. I'm actually very old. I consider this," he said, looking down at himself, "kind of like my _default _form."

"If you were knocked unconscious-"

He smiled. "I wouldn't necessarily revert to this shape."

Her gaze softened and turned sad.

He looked pained for a moment, then set her hand in her own lap and patted it. "I'm sorry about your ship."

She swallowed, nodding as she leaned back against the wall. "You still have some…mass remaining."

"I'll remove it. There won't be any evidence that aliens were ever on board."

"No," she told him, smiling at him. "You can pay for everything."

His look of incomprehension blossomed into a huge smile.


	14. Chapter 14

14

There were others of his kind on board the alien vessel, lesser-ranked creatures who obeyed his command because they knew they would be forced to join him otherwise. Before River ever saw them, Weaver had coaxed them into human form. _Serenity's_ pilot requested to see them in their default forms, but he politely convinced her she need not possess this information. He did, however, admit that the one alien that had captured her had looked very close to their true nature. His new crew assisted with clean-up while he discussed with her how to get his old body back and return Jayne to his own physical housing.

"First, you must promise me to erase any and all evidence of what took place here from your ship's database."

With her capacity to recall things, she knew she could document the event well after the fact if she so chose.

He waved a forefinger before her face. It looked like Jayne scolding her. "I'd rather not mess with your brain, but I do have the capability," he warned her.

Her brow furrowed. "Could you repair me? Make me the girl I was or the one I could be?"

"Telepathic," he reminded her, tapping his temple. "I was able to eavesdrop on your creepy little conversation with…what did you call him? The Furry Slug?"

She smiled shyly.

"Of course, he was broadcasting in an effort to distract me. We have the capability to block the messages we send. He was not likely to do anything more than torment you."

"But you can."

His own brows tried to meet over his nose and his lower lip jutted slightly. "Is that the price you ask for your silence? For our anonymity?"

Her features relaxed and she rose up on her toes in a slight hop while splaying the lower ends of her skirt out to either side. "No one would believe me," she pointed out.

"For now. Eventually you'll encounter others who've run into us or heard of us. We aren't the only sentients lurking about. The last major wave to leave Earth went to the nearest sustainable solar system, and there are so many more to explore."

River shook her head. "But the energy required to travel vast distances within lifetimes-"

He looked airily about. "Gravity drive?" She nodded. He gestured in the general direction of his newly acquired vessel. "Quantum drive." He began to walk and she tagged along. "It's based on the movement of qubits through an entangled quantum state-"

She immediately grasped the concept. "You mean that you accelerate in a series of short jumps or flickers, so closely timed that you're practically unable to notice the motion from within the vessel aside from apparent velocity…thus higher speeds would make the ship almost invisible to the naked eye of an outside observer…as though you had moved faster than the speed of light from one distant coordinate to another."

"Do I have to erase that from your brain?" he asked, lightly grabbing her by the top of her head and playfully shaking her.

"The notion that other sentient beings co-exist with us?" she asked, grinning as she swatted his hand away.

He smiled with relief.


	15. Chapter 15

15

The distraction created by River's second message was momentarily forgotten when _Serenity'_s crew saw their ship approaching beyond the shuttle's viewports. The alleged scrap ship resembled a repugnant growth like some sort of tumor or parasite attached to the hull. The arguing quieted aside from Flint Fortner's weak protests that erupted between bits of drinking songs while he remained tied to Inara's bed, punchy and sluggish from Dr. Tam's administrations of some of Inara's personal blends of recreational relaxants.

As they had been sailing away from _Serenity_, Fortner had flown into a crazed rage, smashing a mirror and screaming that he was actually Jayne and could prove it. Inara had remained peculiarly silent at first, looking as though she was trying to recall something familiar or was experiencing a distracting bit of déjà vu. She'd been stunned to have been asked why she had damaged the controls of her own rented vessel, and was seemingly unable to come up with an answer. Because Flint's rantings and ravings had disturbed her so, she'd been the first to suggest they bind him with silk rope. He'd flown into a berserk kind of rage, attacking Mal without trying to hurt him, seizing him by the throat to get his attention and screaming, with eyes bulging and face gone red, trying to convince him that he was someone they knew very well. Kaylee had smashed an objet d'art over his head, and he had turned toward her but not advanced her way. Mal took one good breath, drew back and punched him hard in the back of his head, bruising his knuckles, but successfully dropping the guy. Simon had attended him, relieved to learn he still had a pulse, could breathe on his own, and had not suffered any lasting damage. That's when Inara had revealed a small store of herbs and tinctures she offered to help keep the guy relaxed. She showed an unusual knowledge of knot-tying techniques, and once the unconscious man was settled, she had secretly taken a little of her own medicine to calm herself.

At Mal's behest, Simon asked her a few questions and performed a rudimentary sort of examination, checking her pulse and the whites of her eyes. She grew quiet when prodded for specific details on her behavior. Her memories did not match the event and she feared they would restrain her as well.

Kaylee had attempted a diagnostic of the damage, although her specialty was actual mechanics as opposed to electronics, so there was little she was able to suggest that might work. They were all hell-bent on returning to _Serenity_, so they didn't even consider sending out a distress signal until every other possibility had been explored. Regardless, a Star Ranger had arrived while Kaylee was cannibalizing what she could of what little she had to work with, attempting to rig a primitive means of propelling themselves rather than drifting, explaining that he'd received the distress call from _Serenity_ and was there to assist them. No one was especially happy with this development because there were a few things they'd prefer not to explain in an official report, but each was good at concocting fabrications in their own way, and so they'd listened closely to each other's comments, observations and answers in order to try and maintain some sort of believable consistency in the improvised explanation that they jointly wove.

The arguing began when Kaylee didn't think the young man with the diagnostic device actually knew how to read it, and again when she accused him of having no idea what he was doing while he puttered about beneath the control panel, briefly causing them to lose interior illumination. The two had gone back and forth with one being very straight-forward and vocal, the other professionally polite and bewildered yet eager to prove himself. Then Flint had started singing, and when the arguments grew louder, so did he.

Even while the Ranger was attempting to tow the shuttle, Kaylee had managed to re-activate part of its controls and done some minor damage to the small repair ship. After that she'd attempted to fix what she'd done while the poor Ranger tried to unfix what she had done to the shuttle.

They fell silent, aside from Flint who couldn't see anything from his position, watching _Serenity _approach with hope and trepidation, uncertain if she was under the control of the foreign vessel or not. River hailed them, assured them everything was okay. As usual, she was evasive when asked direct questions, and preferred to communicate in the fewest number of words possible. Mal found Kaylee and let her know they would soon be back aboard their own ship, so she told the Ranger he'd better vanish before they docked.

"_What_…is _that_?" he'd asked, catching sight of the monstrous thing that seemed to grow out of the Firefly-class vessel.

"You don't wanna be part of anything that could get you in trouble, right?" the captain asked, throwing an arm about his thin shoulders.

"In trouble?"

"Fired? Unemployed?"

"Let me fix my ship," the Ranger stuttered, rushing back to his own vessel.

Mal only left the Star Ranger's ship after he'd seen him enter the call in his log as a false alarm. Kaylee continued work on the shuttle with tools she had pilfered from the bewildered Ranger, managing to restore enough control to perform a slightly perilous dock-up with the mothership. River activated the airlocks and opened the passageway between the vessels much to the surprise of everyone. Waiting for some acknowledgement from the girl, Mal was the first to cross the brief threshold, turning immediately to check the panel Jayne had damaged. It was as intact as though nothing untoward had ever occurred. He looked down at River who smiled up at him innocently, letting him know she had something to hide, but that whatever it was, it had probably already been worked out for the better. "Where's Jayne?"

"He's not with you?"

He turned toward her, jaw tight. "You know he wasn't with us. Now, what did you do to him?"

She lifted her hands, palms up, to either side and shrugged, shaking her head.

What was causing everyone to act so strange? He left her to make a quick check of the ship. Simon exited next, pleased to see she seemed well. "What happened?"

"Never believe it," she said.

Again, he could see nothing harmful lurking behind her gaze. So long as she insisted everything was okay, then most likely it was. Something seemed off, though. He thought he could detect an odd odor about the ship…like a vast quantity of water.

Kaylee brushed past them on her way to gather more equipment with which to bring the shuttle back into full service. Inara remained next to Flint, her eyes focused on him, but her mind elsewhere. From within _Serenity_ came a howl like fury unleashed, and Jayne emerged from his quarters at a dead-run, vengeance written all over him. He nearly knocked Kaylee down, and didn't even blink when Mal confronted him, shoving him aside so he could continue his trajectory toward the recently docked shuttle. Simon propelled himself against one side of the corridor while River took the other, and the towering, seething man seized Inara by the shoulders to clear the way so he could murder Flint Fortner.

The man coughed and grunted, gasped and groaned, trying desperately to writhe in his restraints. Blood and spittle flew, skin broke, muscle softened into mush that would later fill with blood and become full-fledged bruises. A tooth was chipped by a knuckle. Another tooth broke. Inara screamed and fought the man wildly at first, recalling her training a moment later and targeting very specific parts of his anatomy in an effort to stun him. River entered, seized Jayne by the shoulders, lifted a knee she planted in the small of his back, then drew her free leg up to use as extra weight as she drew him backward easily, letting him drop to the floor harder then she needed to. The man was momentarily shocked—especially when he realized that something so small had manipulated him so easily. By that time Simon had arrived to pin him by one arm while Mal entered to kneel upon the other. Jayne could have easily freed himself, but wisely chose to shout instead, aware River was standing over his head. "That hundan isn't me!" he growled. "_I'm_ me! I'm the_ only_ me! He's an imposter!"

"Who?" Mal asked.

"Him. That Flint guy!"

"He's an imposter?"

"Yes! Just look at him!"

Mal played along, turning his head for a look. "Who's he impersonating? Himself after a bar brawl gone bad?"

"He's being…_him_. He's him._ I'm _me! You do believe me, don'tcha?"

Slowly, the captain asked, "Do I believe that he's Flint Fortner and you're Jayne?" He nodded. "Pretty much."

"But he was me!"

"Well, he said he was, but we never believed him."

Jayne said, "Well, I'm me now…'cept I'm wearing different clothes than I was…but it's me all right."

"Good," Mal told him.

"You gonna get off me now?"

"I believe you have some explaining to do."

"But, I just _told_ you," the larger man whined.

"Then you can go explain it better to Dr. Tam. Simon, would you?"

With a nod, the elegant man rose and offered to assist Jayne to his feet. Mal helped him and he looked contemptuously back at Fortner. "Jian ta de gui," he spat. "You're not outta this yet."

Inara tended to the injured man. "He beat him pretty badly."

"We'll have Simon get him next."

"He can go back," River told them from near the exit.

"Go back?" Mal repeated.

"His ship is here. He has crew. I'll go tell them." She ran off before he could stop her.

"Can you watch him?" the captain asked the companion. She nodded, looking worried.

He half-jogged after the girl until he caught sight of the cargo bay. It was empty for the most part. His first thought was that Fortner's people had cleaned them out. Descending a flight of steps, he prowled cautiously toward a pile of pillowcases and scavenged bedding. They didn't move, but bulged with something. He looked around and took note of areas of damage to his ship. Beams were warped and dented, there were gouges and scratches through paint. Something big had happened while they were away, and it appeared as though River, sensing it ahead of time, may have intentionally allowed them to be removed from the picture, most likely to protect them from something awful . Curiosity compelled him forward until he was able to nudge one of the makeshift sacks with the toe of his boot. The contents shifted easily. He squatted and lifted away an edge of a blanket. What he saw made his eyes go huge. He remained staring for a few moments before revealing the contents of the rest of the bedding. Standing upright with his fists on his hips, he exhaled a single syllable of disbelief. Then he squatted again to plunge his hands into the stuff and feel around within it, making sure it wasn't some kind of scam. He grabbed handfuls and fell back upon his bottom to look at what he held. An open grin of amazement dominated his features. He barely looked up when four strange men walked by, led by his pilot. "Sorry 'bout that," he called dismissively, playing with his prize.

Inara noted that the strange crewmembers each appeared roughly the same; forgettable with mouse-colored hair in unimaginative styles, dull eyes, bland features, each about the same size and shape. They wore identical uniforms that looked odd in the light, like they'd been fashioned of coarsely woven animal hair and patches of some kind of leather. She graciously released the bonds of Mr. Fortner who had apparently slipped into unconsciousness. Simon returned and protested his removal, but River stayed him, and the odd strangers carried him beneath his armpits and by his ankles to the airlock between the two vessels.


	16. Chapter 16

16

They never did discover what exactly had possessed Jayne to go off half-cocked, nor what River had done to stop him. Mal was unable to care about the missing cargo or the superfluous damage_ Serenity_ had taken now that he was at least temporarily rich. The strange vessel had departed shortly after they had acquired Fortner, vanishing from detection so fast they chalked it up to another bit of high-tech gimmickry. Smokerise was still close, so they altered course for a return trip. The captain divvied up the loot between them after setting aside a sum that would cover repairs and then some. They sat in the dining area surrounded by bowls and sacks and small crates of pearls, wondering at their beauty and variety. There were pearls of every imaginable color, all of them far larger than normal, the sort of jewels one imagined royalty adorned with in old children's tales. Their sheens ran from pleasing soft glows to metallic lusters with mirror finishes. Simon had subjected a random few to testing and declared them genuine, wild harvested, but from no species he could identify. Inara carefully separated a few she wanted strung, some she wanted made into decorative netting, and others she wanted sewn onto clothing or fastened onto art pieces. Kaylee was impressed with the ideas she came up with and questioned her every suggestion, rolling some of hers into the outlines of interesting designs on the table. Mal polished a few appreciatively with a soft bit of fabric and sat enjoying their colors and lusters like fine art. Simon decided to keep the very best specimens and use the rest for trade to upgrade some of his medical equipment. Jayne only took a real interest in them when Inara started quoting values she'd seen for similar pieces she'd discovered on her computer. He decided he ought to hide them and knew just the place. Excusing himself, he quietly lugged his share with him. They all watched him go, knowing he still wasn't quite the same guy he'd been hours before.

"I wish I could have examined Mr. Fortner," Simon mentioned. "It might have helped me figure out what was wrong with Jayne."

"What's your best guess?" Mal prompted.

He shook his head. "Perhaps, assuming that Mr. Fortner was indeed utilizing some type of pharmaceutical on Kaylee and Inara to gain their cooperation, Jayne had an adverse reaction to it, and Flint himself may have suffered an overdose."

"But, you found no trace of any such substance?"

"I will perform a few more tests, if that's okay," he said. "I'd like to test the ropes he sweated on, and the bedding he was atop of," he told Inara. She nodded, having become noticeably more reserved and cooperative of late.

Mal let his gaze wander to River. "Don't forget her. I don't know exactly what happened here, but I think there's a lot more to it than she's let on."

The physician nodded grimly. "She's tried to explain a little of it to me...but...," he shook his head as though it required clearing, "so much of it sounds so fantastical...so nightmarish...or perhaps it was all some kind of hallucination."

The captain squinted at her with one eye and cocked an eyebrow.

The girl snorted skeptically. "Mei guanxi," she sighed, dragging her sack of pearls over to her brother's side. "For you."

He chuckled. "No, River, we each have our own share. Even Zoe will get some once she's back with us."

"Don't want 'em," she said, moving away from him.

"You know that they're valuable, right? Pearls are used in jewelry making. They're highly sought-after and even more rare than ever. This batch right here," he added incredulously, "probably quadruples the known number in the entire solar system."

She shook her head and took hold of her own left upper arm. "Gross," she told him.

"They're gross? How so?"

"How they make 'em," she said, shuddering before she retreated to the bridge.

From elsewhere in the vessel came the anguished roar of a man who'd just discovered that his secret stash of snacks was missing.


End file.
